“Back to school is typically the largest opportunity that we get,” said Simon Atkins, who heads the Sports Style division.

Matt Powell, who tracks the athletic footwear and apparel segment for SportsOneSource, said the back-to-school season typically represents 15 percent of the annual sales volume for sporting goods brands.

And this year could be one of the biggest on record. The National Retail Federation last month forecast that families will spend $16.5 billion on clothing and shoes during back-to-school season this year, a 35 percent increase from a year ago and the highest point in more than a decade.

“Back-to-school is a mini-Christmas for some of these brands in terms of sell-through rates and sales of their product,” said Christopher Svezia, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group who tracks Nike Inc. and major sporting goods retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods.

But it doesn't mean the same thing to all brands.

Portland-based outdoor footwear manufacturer KEEN Inc. thinks of back-to-school as "transition season," said Russ Hopcus, the company's vice president of global sales and market development. For kids — a major class of consumers for KEEN — it's the shift from summer vacation to the start of school. For adults it means the transition from open-toed sandals to close-toed shoes.

"We have addressed this opportunity through a wide variety of fun, versatile, trend-right shoes that are great for both the playground and classroom," Hopcus said.

But in terms of the degree of importance, it's a much bigger deal for KEEN's kids business than it is for adult footwear.

A major reason for that is the outdoor specialty retail channel — which Hopcus said represents a significant piece of KEEN's business — doesn't spend much time marketing to back-to-school shoppers, focusing instead on seasonal initiatives.

However, department stores and casual footwear retailers — which drive a large amount of KEEN's kids business — view it as an incredibly important season, he said.

Over at Columbia Sportswear Co., back-to-school season matters but not as a driver of sales.

Ron Parham, a spokesman for the Washington County-based outdoor footwear and apparel brand, said the season serves as a barometer of consumer mood, providing a picture into how much or how little they may be willing to spend come the fall and winter seasons that drive much of Columbia’s business.

“It really is a precursor to that October-through-February period, which to us is far more important at retail,” Parham said.